A Thousand Words
by frostmoon13
Summary: After getting blasted all the way to Gloom island by Bartholomew Kuma, Zoro is trying to get back. However, no matter how much it may seem otherwise, Gloom island is a very lively place, what with the annoying ghost girl, the huge baboons, Hawk Eye Mihawk, and a strange little girl who live there... Takes place during timeskip.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is the first One Piece fanfic I ever wrote! I had a lot of fun writing it, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece. only my oc.**

Gloom island was probably the worst place he could have landed. The place reeked of smoke and the air was stale, even though there was nothing but open sky above. That wasn't the worst of it, though. The worst part was the annoying pink haired girl that wouldn't let him leave.

"Damn it..." Roronoa Zoro muttered as he ran down the hallway of the large castle, the only thing left of Muggy Kingdom. He couldn't find his swords, that annoying girl (what was her name again?) wouldn't stop following him, and to add to the embarrassment he was lost. "How complicated can it be? I need to find my swords, and get out of here."

"You're not getting away from me that easily... Horo horo horo horo horo."

Zoro stopped in his tracks. Standing in front of him was a gigantic Perona, just sitting there, blacking the whole path. "Negative Hollow!"

The last thing Zoro remembered was falling to his knees, saying something along the lines of 'forgive me for not being born a sea cucumber'.

When Zoro woke up, he was back in the bed where he had woken up before. When he tried to sit up, he realised he was so wrapped up in bandages he could barely move. He shut his eyes in exasperation. He would never be able to get to sea at this rate. He had read in the newspaper to meet up with Luffy and the rest of the gang in three days. He was running out of time.

When Zoro opened his eyes, he almost had a heart attack. He was staring into a pair of grey eyes. The eyes of a stranger.

If he was startled, it was nothing compared to how the stranger reacted. The stranger jumped up, and ran away.

Zoro sighed and shut his eyes. He must have been imagining it. He couldn't even hear fleeing footsteps down the hallway. "Urg..." he grumbled.

Slowly, carefully, he unraveled the bandages that were way too tight for him to move. It took him about two hours, but he finally managed to get up off the bed.

The hallway was dark and deserted. Not a sign that there was anyone besides him and Perona around. His instincts must have been playing tricks on him. There was no one else there.

He passed a room with a half-opened door and then doubled back, his eyes as wide as saucers. There were his swords, covered in dust, just lying there on the floor. He grabbed them and kept going. The only problem was... he had no idea where he was going.

He stopped when he ran up to a huge, red door. That seemed promising enough.

He pushed through the door, and there was Perona waiting for him.

"Where do you think you're going?!" she shouted. "You're lucky to be alive! If you try to escape, I'll be more than happy to hit you with another negative hollow."

Zoro rolled his eyes. He was exhausted. He supposed there would be no harm in taking a nap in the room. "Shut up..." he muttered as he flopped down on the couch.

"You took off your bandages again!" Perona screeched. "Do you know how long I worked to bandage you up? YOU IDIOT!"

Zoro grumbled something he hoped she couldn't understand, turned over and fell asleep. His sleep was deep and dreamless. Then, a flash of light lit his subconscious mind.

"I'm gone for a few days and I find two unwanted guests in my house." said a familiar voice.

Zoro shot up, flinching from his wounds, staring up at Dracule "Hawk Eye" Mihawk. He was standing there, his arms crossed, giving him one of his famous death glares.

Perona hid behind Zoro, quivering with fear.

Hawk Eye sat down in a large chair across from the couch. He took up a bottle of wine and a newspaper, and poured the wine into a glass. "Well?" he said, eyeing the two younger people with his piercing gold eyes.

"Well, what?" Zoro said, unfazed by Hawk Eye's stare.

"You owe me an explanation as to why you're in my home."

"You live here?" Zoro asked. How on earth could anyone stand living in a place like this? When Hawk Eye gave him another glare, he said, "It was Kuma." he said. "We were sent here by that weird attack of his."

Hawk Eye put down his glass and nodded. "Hmm..." he said. "Fine. However, there is something you should know."

"What?!" Zoro shouted. "There was a battle at marineford?"

Hawk Eye nodded. Then, he looked up. "It's all right." he said to the empty doorway behind Zoro. "Come meet our guests."

Zoro looked behind him, and gasped.

A small girl of about seven years old appeared in the doorway. She had tanned skin, and choppy blue hair that almost covered her soft grey eyes. She wore a threadbare grey shirt that reached to her knees, with a belt holding it in place, and black pants that covered her feet. There was a katana strapped to her back. It was about as long as his Wado Ichimonji, but it was huge on her.

"Awww!" Perona shouted. "She's so cute!"

Zoro did agree with her, although he didn't say anything. She was pretty cute.

The girl darted past them and hid behind Hawk Eye's chair, peeking out at them.

"This is Kess." said Hawk Eye.

"Your daughter?" Zoro asked.

Hawk Eye shook his head. "She's adopted."

"I saw her at one point, though I thought I was seeing things." Zoro said.

"Kess." Hawk Eye said. "Go get dinner ready."

Kess nodded and ran to the kitchen, with a sidelong glance at Zoro.

"Now, Roronoa." Hawk Eye said, giving Zoro a stern look. "There's more you should hear."

Zoro ran down the narrow path, followed closely by a bunch of large baboons, humandrills. They had been chasing him for hours, and Zoro was pretty sure he'd been running in circles for half the time. He stopped in front of the ruined part of the village, and turned to face the weird baboons. "Damn it..." he growled. "I don't have time for this... I have to get out to sea."

The huge ugly baboons lunged, brandishing their notched swords, gigantic spears, and large, meaty fists.

Zoro took up his swords, and lunged forward to meet them. "Oni... GIRI!" he shouted, slashing one of them.

Instead of falling down in defeat, the baboon got up, licked his fingers and patted his large wound with saliva.

"Spit's not going to help that!" Zoro shouted. "Where did you learn such stupid folk remedies?!"

The baboons regrouped and charged. Then, something stopped them in their tracks. They doubled back, cringing in fear.

Zoro turned around, and glared at the man who had shown up. "Hawk Eye." he growled.

"So you're still here, Roronoa." Mihawk said. "It would seem that you turned the boat I gave you into flotsam. Come to my castle. These humandrills don't come near it."

"You told me about what happened to Luffy!" Zoro shouted. "You can't tell me what to do! I'm going out to sea! Right now!"

Hawk Eye sighed. "Very well, do as you wish..."

Unbeknownst to Zoro and Hawk Eye, there was another person out there. Hiding behind a large piece of rubble, was Kess. She was just sitting there staring out timidly at the green haired swordsman and his mob of opponents.

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Here's chapter 2 of A Thousand Words!**

**Zoro: You'd better have a good reason for waking me up...**

**FM13: You get to say the disclaimer this time!**

**Zoro: No thanks. **

**FM13: Aww... Please...**

**Zoro: (groans) Fine... frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters. She only owns her OC.**

Chapter 2

"Please! Teach me what you know!"

Zoro couldn't see Hawk Eye, since his head was bowed all the way to the floor, but he could feel his cold gaze resting on him.

"You disappoint me, Zoro." Hawk Eye said. "Get out of my sight."

"I want to get stronger!" he said. He seriously hoped he didn't sound as desperate as he felt.

"You were thrashed by monkeys and are unable to go out to sea." Mihawk said. "I have nothing to teach a weakling like you."

"I beat the monkeys!"

Those words echoed through the large room.

"You're the only one I have to take down now..."

"I still don't understand..." Mihawk said. "Why would you beg your mortal enemy to instruct you?"

"To surpass you!"

Then, Hawk Eye did something Zoro didn't expect. He laughed. A loud, carrying laugh ringing with mirth. "You want me to teach you the sword so you can one day take my head? You are a strange one! Ahahaha!"

Zoro lifted his head. He could hardly believe it. Hawk Eye was laughing? There was one for the history books.

Hawk Eye turned to Perona, who was hovering around above him, crying about Gecko Moria, who had supposedly died in the paramount war. "Ghost girl!" he said. "See to his wounds!"

"Stop ordering me around!" Perona shouted at him wiping a tear from her cheek. "That's not cute at all!"

Hawk Eye looked at Zoro and said, "When your wounds have healed, I will instruct you."

Zoro could hardly believe his ears.

Then, someone touched his shoulder. It was Kess. She didn't say anything, but she handed him a small bottle of ointment for his wounds.

"Thanks..." Zoro said.

Kess nodded and then ran to hide behind Hawk Eye again.

As Perona took the green haired swordsman into his room, Mihawk turned to Kess. "Things are going to be a lot more interesting around here with those two around." he said to her.

Kess nodded and fixed him with a curious look.

"Well," said Mihawk. "He has a lot more pride than you'd think. A man of his caliber only abandons his pride for the sake of another."

It took four days for Zoro's wounds to completely heal. When Zoro started his training, Hawk Eye took it upon himself to make Zoro's training as hard as he possibly could. Hawk Eye worked him from dawn to dusk. Breakfast was at seven o'clock in the morning, and he didn't eat again until dinner at seven.

After a particularly hard training session, Zoro collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.

"Are you giving up?" Hawk Eye asked, giving him that cold stare.

There was a soft knock on the door of the room they were training in.

"Oh, It's dinner time. Come in!"

Kess walked in. She was dressed in her regular black pants. Her grey shirt had a large gash in the right shoulder. Unlike most nights, she wasn't carrying a tray of food. When Hawk Eye gave her the stink eye, she returned it.

Hawk Eye chuckled at this. "You're right." he said. "There's no reason we can't eat at the table like civilized people. Come on, Roronoa."

Hawk Eye went on ahead.

_Geez..._ Zoro thought. _How exactly can he get so far ahead in so little time?_ He stopped when someone touched his elbow. It was Kess. She was staring up at him, with a look that he couldn't explain. "Did you get lost or something?" he asked.

Kess gave him a reproachful look. Okay, that did seem pretty damn ridiculous, even to him. She'd been living there her whole life, probably.

Kess timidly took his hand, and led him down another hallway. She didn't say anything, but that wasn't anything new.

"Hey," Zoro said.

Kess flinched.

"Do you not talk to me or Perona because you're scared of us? We're not that bad."

Kess shook her head frantically. She looked like she was about to run away, but Zoro didn't let go of her hand.

Then, another thought occurred to him. "Are you mute?" he asked.

She nodded. She didn't acknowledge he was there again until they got to the large dining hall, which, funny enough, was just down the hall from the training room in the other direction.

Kess showed Zoro a chair in the centre of the table, then went to the other end of the table and sat next to Hawk Eye.

Hawk Eye looked at Zoro and raised an eyebrow. "You took so long, I sent Kess to get you. She knows her way around the castle like the back of her hand. I figured you'd gotten lost."

"Sh-shut up!" Zoro muttered.

Perona, who had been silent for this whole dialogue, pouted, "Why will she go out of her way to find you and she won't even touch me with a ten foot pole?!"

"Maybe she doesn't like annoying pink haired ghost girls." Zoro said, stuffing a forkful of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"WHAT did you say?!" Perona shrieked.

Kess flinched and clung to Hawk Eye's sleeve.

"Enough shouting at the dinner table." Hawk Eye said, like he was lecturing two unruly children.

They ate in silence after that. The food wasn't gourmet like Sanji's cooking, but it was still pretty good.

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello! frostmoon13 here! I have a guest with me this chapter! Please welcome the gold-eyed man himself, Hawk Eye! (applauds)**

**Mihawk: What do you want?**

**FM13: Hawk Eye... straight to the point, like usual. (smirks) Well then, (pulls out a tiny microphone) What's the most interesting part about having two noisy additions to your household. **

**Mihawk: I will not answer this... When you called me here, I figured you would have something dumb like this planned... I want no part of it. (leaves)**

**FM13: Man... he is such a party pooper... **

**Kess: ... **

**FM13: Yeah, you're right, Kess. I don't own One Piece or any of it's characters. I only own my OCs. **

**Thanks to those who reviewed! **

Chapter 3

The next day, Hawk Eye told Zoro they would be training outside. That was a relief. If they had to stay in that room to train for one more day, Zoro felt like he would go insane.

The early morning sun was dim and hazy. Not that that was a surprise.

"So," Zoro said. "What are we going to do today?"

Hawk Eye pointed over the hill. Lumbering up the hill was the largest, ugliest humandrill Zoro had ever seen. He was wearing a dented helm on his huge head, and a cross shaped sword strapped to his back.

"This is the king of the humandrills." Hawk Eye explained. "He learned his swordsmanship by imitating me. He is not as strong as me, but he is the strongest humandrill on the island."

Excitement coursed through Zoro's veins. He drew his swords and grinned. "Let's get on with it, then." he said to the baboon.

Zoro's swords clashed with the humandrill's long, large one. This ugly baboon was a lot stronger than the average monkey. He couldn't even make a dent on it. The humandrill slashed his sword across Zoro's chest. Warm blood oozed down his chest. The cut wasn't deep, but it was enough to make him stagger back. The baboon lunged forward, but, with a clash of steel, Hawk Eye intercepted him.

"That's enough for today." he said, giving the baboon his famous glare.

The humandrill turned and lumbered away, for a little while.

"Why did you do that?" Zoro growled as he got up painfully.

"My job is to train you, not get you killed within the first week of your two year wait." Hawk Eye said, not looking at him.

Zoro scowled. Then, something caught his attention.

Kess was standing in a clear patch, sword drawn. She was going through a series of movements that looked way too complicated for a seven year old kid.

A humandrill lunged at her, but she blocked it's strike and slashed it across the chest.

More baboons appeared in the clearing.

Kess turned to the baboons, and when she saw the half a dozen ugly monkeys her eyes widened in fear.

In a flash, Zoro had slashed five of them at a time, and knocked the last one on his butt.

Kess stared at him wide eyed.

"You okay?" he asked.

Kess nodded, then turned to run away, only to smack into Hawk Eye's legs. She fell back on her butt, her sword clattering to the ground.

"Well?" Hawk Eye said, glaring down at the small girl. He looked really intimidating, in his own way.

Kess looked at the ground.

"I did not teach you to freeze in fear when facing an opponent." he said sternly. "If you had remembered your training you would have been able to defeat them."

Zoro stepped in front of Kess and glared at Hawk Eye. "Cut the kid some slack." he said. "Any seven year old would get nervous facing even one of those baboons."

"Those humandrills were the weakest of the pack. Kess has fought them off before. The only thing she lacks is confidence."

Kess leaned down and picked up her katana. With a sidelong glance at Zoro, she started to train again.

"Come, Roronoa." Hawk Eye said. "You need to get that wound patched up."

Zoro shot one last look at Kess. The small girl was swinging her katana around again. "Good luck, kid." Zoro said.

Kess nodded to show her thanks, and continued her training. Zoro turned and followed Hawk Eye to the castle.

"Why do you treat her like that?" Zoro asked. "She's just a kid. You can't expect her to learn as fast as someone my age."

"Kess is much stronger than you'd think." Hawk Eye said. "I cannot tolerate weakness of spirit, even if she is just a child."

Zoro frowned. "You really are cold-hearted, you know that?"

**Jeez... That Hawk Eye... **

**Kess: (shrugs) ...**

**FM13: Yeah, you're right. He does have a lot on his plate right now. **

**Zoro: (snorts) Wha-? What's going on?**

**FM13: Well, look who decided to wake up. **

**Zoro: Oh, the kid's here.**

**Kess: (blushes and runs away) **

**Zoro: (sighs) Well ****_there's_**** a surprise... (rolls his eyes)**

**FM13: Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello****everyone! Here's chapter 4! This is where the action really starts!**

**Kess: (gives the sad eyes) ...**

**FM13: You can do the disclaimer. Here. (hands her a notepad)**

**Kess: ... (scratches something on the notepad) (holds it up) ****_Frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece, or any of it's characters! She only owns her OC._**

Chapter 4

Morning sunlight flooded through the paneless window. When it hit Zoro, he groaned and shifted his position, but it was too late. He was already awake.

Yawning and stretching, he hauled himself out of bed. He supposed training would have to start early that day. However, when he got to the great hall - he couldn't call it a living room, could he?- the only ones there were Kess and Perona.

"Where's Hawk Eye?" Zoro asked. "Is he still asleep, or did he get lost?"

"You've been asleep too long." Perona said, pouting as usual, since Kess was still avoiding her like she had the plague or something. "Hawk Eye left the island. Shichibukai business."

Zoro frowned. "What happened?"

"No idea." Perona said. "He left a note for you, since he didn't seem too keen on waking you up." She pointed to a piece of paper on the counter near the kitchen.

Kess darted out of the way before Zoro could get closer than five feet.

Zoro picked up the note.

_Roronoa,_

_remember to train while I'm away. _

_I expect you to do three hundred basic slashes every day. _

_Do not challenge the king humandrill until I return. _

_Also, remember to clean your room. I do not want to come home to find the place smelling like sweaty shirts. _

_Mihawk_

Zoro looked at Kess. "Did you get homework too?" he asked.

Kess nodded. Then, dodging Perona's new attempt to give her a hug, she disappeared out the door, her hand resting on the hilt of her katana.

Zoro flopped down on the couch, and shut his eyes. After listening to Perona's obnoxious shouting for a few more minutes, he decided to go out to fight those baboons again.

When he got outside, a cold wind blasted him. Zoro took a look around. Nothing seemed different. No one was out there. That was what bothered him. Then, he noticed it. Kess' sword. It was lying on the ground. The ground was splattered with blood.

"Kess." Zoro muttered. "Oh, f***. This is not good."

There was a trail of trampled vegetation heading away from the castle.

Zoro took a quick moment to think. None of those baboons would come near the castle, would they? No matter what it was, he decided, he was going to save her. He didn't have too much time to lose.

Zoro followed the trail of wrecked foliage, ignoring the dead sticks that scratched him. He swore out loud when his head smacked into a burned and blackened branch that he hadn't noticed. He was hopelessly lost now. He couldn't turn back though.

When Zoro got to the end of the trail, he almost had a heart attack. There was the king humandrill, standing over a small, limp figure, hidden in shadow. "Kess!" he shouted. She couldn't be dead, she just couldn't.

Kess was just lying there, her blue hair red and matted with blood. There was an ugly gash across her chest, and a red line of blood running down her forehead. She opened an eye when she heard him call her name. Her eyes widened. The look she gave him sent one message. _RUN!_

The king humandrill seemed to notice him. Reaching for his large crucifix shaped sword, he lunged at Zoro.

Zoro drew his three swords, and rushed to meet him. Their swords clashed. Again Zoro felt the intense push of this ape's power. Zoro was pushed back, crashing into a chunk of rubble. His vision went in and out of focus. _Damn... _he thought. _If I wasn't so weak, I could save her..._

The baboon raised his sword to kill.

Zoro winced. He couldn't move fast enough. The only thing he could do was wait for the killing blow.

Then, something hit the king humandrill in the back of the leg, and he stumbled. His sword stroke missed Zoro by an inch.

Zoro looked up. There was a huge root impaled in the back of the ape's knee.

There was Kess, on her hands and knees. The root was wrapped around her arm, coiling and flexing. There was a shocked look in her eyes. Her breathing was ragged and shallow.

Zoro took the opportunity to charge. Brandishing his swords he shouted, "Santoryu Ogi: SANZEN SEKAI!"

The technique caught the king humandrill in the chest, sending him flying backward. When he hit the ground, Kess raised and crossed her arms. More roots wrapped around the baboon, holding him to the ground.

Zoro stepped up, and expertly slashed the humandrill across the eyes, then knocked it out with the hilt of his sword. "There." he said. Then, with a sigh of relief, he sank to the ground, clutching at his side. He looked at Kess. "You okay, kid?"

A mist seemed to clear from Kess' eyes. Then, she started to cry. It was almost like a dam had hit it's limit and burst. She collapsed on the ground, trembling and sniffing. Zoro went over to her and pulled her into a hug.

Kess continued to cry freely. She gripped his shirt and buried her face in his shoulder.

"It's all right..." Zoro said, running his hand through her hair. "You're okay..."

He had made up his mind. He wasn't going to let anything bad happen to her again. Not if he could help it.

Zoro picked his way through the dead forest. Kess had stopped crying and was clinging to his back. They walked in silence for a little while, Zoro enjoying the quiet. His moment of peace was interrupted when Kess pulled on his ear, hard.

"Ouch." he growled. "What the hell was that for, Kess?"

Kess pointed to the left. Through a patch of trees Zoro could see a small silhouette of the castle on the horizon. Zoro sweatdropped. Kess looked at him and grinned.

Zoro felt his face get hot. "Oh, shut up."

**Kess: (holds up her notepad) ****_Thanks to those who reviewed and followed! XD_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, here's chapter 5! **

**Kess: (holds up her notepad) ****_frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece, or any of it's characters._**

Chapter 5

Mihawk drifted along on his small boat, making his way to the shichibukai meeting at Mariejoa. He pulled the large brim of his hat down over his eyes, all ready to take a nap. Then, the boat lurched.

Mihawk took a look at his surroundings. Surrounding him was a group of four ships, all of them shooting at him. He recognised them. He had fought them a few weeks before. His small boat rolled around dangerously in the chop. "They just don't learn, do they?" he sighed.

He grabbed his sword, Yoru, and absently slashed all four of them clean in two. Sheathing his sword, he continued on his way.

Mihawk relaxed again. He thought about everything that had happened in the past week: Zoro and Perona being at his house when he returned; Zoro begging him to instruct him, something he didn't expect; but most oddly of all, Kess' odd behaviour. She never went near strangers, and yet, she had warmed up to Zoro fairly quickly. That was definitely new to him. There weren't too many people Kess had taken to that quickly.

_(flashback starts)_

Mihawk wouldn't have picked Gloom island as a holiday destination, especially since a war had devastated the land recently.

Mihawk thought that with twenty years of experience in swordsmanship and sea travel, that he knew what carnage looked like. Boy, was he wrong. The buildings were wrecked, and the air smelled like smoke and blood. Corpses littered the ground. It was really hard to find a place to stand. There were dead soldiers all over the place, they were stripped of their weapons and armor.

The most gruesome sight was the dead body of a woman. She had several gashes on her torso. Her hair was stained red from blood. Her face would have been pretty, but it was marred from the battle. Mihawk bent down and closed the woman's glassy eyes. Then, something caught his attention. There was a wiggling bundle of laundry in the woman's arms. No, not laundry, it was a baby. She looked no older than a couple of months old. Mihawk leant down and picked up the wriggling baby. Her hair was blue. Then, she opened her eyes. Her grey eyes met his gold ones. She smiled, reached out, and pulled his sideburn.

"Ouch." he said. "That hurt, little one."

He stood up, and, adjusting the baby in his arms, he walked to the one building that wasn't destroyed: the castle of Muggy kingdom.

_two years later_

Mihawk had heard some pretty scary things about taking care of babies, like incessant crying, late night feedings, and diaper rash. However, he had to deal with none of those. As far as he could tell, the baby was mute, so she never made any noise, and hardly ever cried. She slept all night. The day he'd started bottle feeding her, he'd put her on a strict feeding schedule. Sometimes he had to wake her up to feed her.

The trouble began when she learned to walk. Mihawk had never seen a baby so intent on wandering around and getting into trouble. He would turn his back on her for two minutes, and she'd be halfway across the castle.

One day, Mihawk was enjoying a glass of wine in the great hall of the castle when he caught sight of an all too familiar ship moored at the island. Groaning, he picked up the baby who was wandering around on the floor, and placed her in a kind of playpen that he'd made, before sweeping out the door down to the shore. Standing in front of the large ship was that annoying red haired rival of his. When he saw Mihawk, he smiled hugely and said, "Hey, Hawk Eye! Long time no see! You don't call or write me at all! How am I supposed to call you my buddy if we don't keep in touch?"

"We are not 'buddies', Red Hair." Mihawk said coldly. How on earth did he ever get to know this person? When he wasn't being irritating he was drinking. More of the former than the latter.

Shanks opened his mouth to continue when he stopped short. "Uhh," he said. "Your eyesight is better than mine, so correct me if I'm wrong, but... Isn't that a kid on your roof?"

Mihawk turned around and almost had a heart attack. There was the baby, crawling around on the roof of one of the towers. "Excuse me a moment..." he said, before dashing to the roof, picking her up, and returning to shore.

"Awww..." Shanks said, bending down to get a better look at the squirming infant in his arms. "She's only a baby! I didn't know you had a kid, Hawk Eye."

"I don't" Mihawk said flatly. "She's a war orphan. The last survivor of the gloom island war."

"Can I hold her?" Shanks asked.

"Absolutely not."

"Why not?" Shanks gave him the puppy dog eyes, which was weird coming from a thirty-year-old.

"You would drop her." The one arm was a problem he had to consider.

"I wouldn't! Come on! Pleaaase?"

"Oh, fine."

"Yay!" Shanks said as he took the baby from Mihawk's arms. "What's her name, Hawk Eye?"

"I don't know." he said.

Shanks gave him an incredulous look. "You didn't even name your own kid?"

"I keep telling you she's not my child. How would I know her name?"

"You can give her one, can't you?" Shanks said. "What name would you like, little one? How about 'Sally'? That's a cute name. What do you think, Hawk Eye?"

"No. I will not call her anything others might consider cute." Mihawk said, with distaste.

Shanks frowned. "How about Kess, then? That's a good name." Then, looking at Mihawk he said, "If that's okay with his majesty."

Mihawk sighed. "Fine, Kess it is." He resisted the overwhelming urge to rub his temples in annoyance.

Shanks grinned. "Great! So her name is Dracule Kess."

"No. It's just Kess." Mihawk said.

"Aww, Hawk Eye... That's mean." Shanks whined.

"She is not my daughter. It would be inappropriate to give her my surname."

Shanks looked at Kess and smiled. "You're dad is such a killjoy. Don't grow up and inherit that from him, 'kay?"

Mihawk took Kess from Shank's arm.

"Shanks, did you want something?" he asked, glaring.

"I was just dropping in to see how my old buddy was doing. I need to leave, though." He turned away and waved to them. "Bye Hawk Eye! Kess, make sure your daddy behaves himself!"

Mihawk rolled his eyes. He looked down at Kess, who was dozing off in his arms. "You'd better not become as happy go lucky as he is, Kess. There's such thing as not taking life seriously enough."

_(Flashback ends)_

Mihawk woke up from his daze when he hit the violent turbulence of the waters of Mariejoa.

He got to the dock and moored his ship in a few minutes. Then, he walked into the large building that the meeting would take place.

When he got inside, he was the last one there. "How odd." he said as he walked into the large hall. "All of the shichibukai gathered in one place. I foresee stormy skies ahead."

Six sets of eyes swiveled to him. "Well, look who decided to join us." said Hancock dryly.

"Hey, take a chair, Mihawk." said Sengoku. "We need to discuss the growing threat of the Blackbeard pirates, and the disappearance of Straw Hat Luffy and his crew."


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! Here's chapter 6! And here to say the disclaimer today is... Roronoa Zoro!**

**Zoro: (snores) **

**Kess: ...**

**FM13: (whispers) All right... One, two, three... (shouts at the top of her lungs) WAKE UP, ZORO!**

**Zoro: (wakes up and smacks his head against the wall) Wha-?!**

**FM13: Good. You're awake! Now you can say the disclaimer!**

**Zoro: You woke me up for that?! No way!**

**Kess: (gives him the sad eyes) ...**

**Zoro: Gah... Fine. Frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters. Only her OC.**

Chapter 6

The next morning, Zoro was fighting a group of humandrills. They weren't much of a challenge, but Zoro wasn't good enough to fight the king humandrill without Hawk Eye's supervision. He felt a soft tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Kess staring up at him. "Good morning." he said. "What's up?"

Kess smiled and pulled on his sleeve again. She led him out into the woods, past the wrecked outskirts of muggy kingdom, past the spot where he'd saved her life from the king humandrill, right into the heart of the woods.

"Where are we going, Kess?" Zoro asked. "Do you want to show me something?" He stopped dead in his tracks. "Wow..." he said, awestruck.

Towering high in front of them was a huge sakura tree. It was in full bloom, with huge green leaves, and blue blossoms. Zoro had never seen a sakura tree with blue blossoms before. It was the most beautiful tree Zoro had ever seen on the island. It was the only living tree there after all.

"Are you doing this?" Zoro asked Kess.

She nodded, staring up at the flowering tree.

"I've been meaning to ask," he said. "Do you have a devil fruit power? The plant -plant fruit maybe?"

Kess nodded. Then, she flashed him a grin.

"You must be pretty proud of this place. It looks like you put a lot of work into this."

Kess kept smiling, then, she yawned hugely.

They both sat down by the tree. Zoro leaned back and yawned too.

Kess gave him a pleading look.

Zoro smiled. "Yeah, I'll be staying for a while. No I will not leave suddenly without telling you first."

Kess gave another one of her timid smiles. She closed her eyes and leaned against his shoulder.

The small smile tugged at Zoro's mouth again. He ruffled her hair. He leaned back and closed his eyes as well.

* * *

"Well, isn't that cute." a mocking voice said through the darkness.

When Zoro opened his eyes, the evening light was blinding. When his eyes finally adjusted, he could make out the smirking face of Hawk Eye Mihawk. "What?" he groaned.

That's when he noticed what was going on. He had fallen asleep.

Kess was still dozing softly, cuddled up to him, one hand gripping his shirt, her head resting over his heart. Her breathing was steady and deep. He had his left arm wrapped around her shoulder.

"Well, what do you know..." Hawk Eye smirked.

"We fell asleep!" Zoro hissed, trying not to wake Kess up. "What do you think happened?"

"No, no." Hawk Eye said. "It's just, I expect a story about how she warmed up to you so quickly. Also..."

Zoro tensed.

"I always thought you were the big brother type." With that, Hawk Eye disappeared into the woods.

"Geez..." Zoro grumbled, rubbing his forehead with his right hand. "He is such a weird guy..."

* * *

"So that's what happened." Hawk Eye said, sipping his wine. "That must have been quite the adventure."

Kess looked at him wide eyed.

"You aren't angry with her?" Zoro asked. He was sitting next to Kess, who was timidly clinging to his sleeve.

"I might have been, if you two had gotten off scott-free." was Hawk eye's reply. "However, you both learned something, hopefully. Life instructs you when a teacher cannot." He eyed the two of them again, with a strange light in his eyes.

Perona, however, was getting more and more upset. "So," she whined. "How come I'm the only one she avoids now? And is that why you dumped cooking duty on me last night? I don't cook! I'm a guest here!"

"Correction." Hawk Eye said. "You're a freeloader. You need to do some work."

"I also had to patch the two of them up!" she shrieked. "Do you have any idea how bad wounded people smell?"

Kess clapped her hand to her mouth, unsuccessfully trying to stifle a laugh.

"We'll try extra hard not to get into fights that will cause us to sweat." Zoro laughed. The idea was so ridiculous, even Hawk Eye had to suppress a smile.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Zoro and Hawk Eye were standing on the crest of the hill looking out on the sea. "You ready?" Hawk Eye asked.

Zoro nodded, resting his right hand on his three swords.

Then, the ground started to shake. Lumbering up the hill was the king humandrill, flanked by fifteen of his baboon soldiers.

Hawk Eye stared at the huge baboon plodding towards them. "Well," he said, sounding impressed. "You blinded him the other day. I'm impressed."

Zoro grinned. If he squinted, he could see the red scar running across his face, and his eyes, webbed with cataract.

Then, Kess pulled on Zoro's sleeve. "What's up?" he asked.

Kess smirked at him.

"You want to challenge me to a contest?"

She nodded.

"You want to see if I can defeat the ugly one before you take out the honour guard? Fine, you're on."

"You two remember your training during your little contest." Hawk Eye said, tonelessly. "I do not want to have to save you on accounts of your own stupidity."

"Thanks for the comforting words, sensei." Zoro said sarcastically. With that, he drew his swords, and charged the huge baboon.

Kess unsheathed the katana on her back.

It flashed silver in the late afternoon sun.

Smiling in excitement, she charged the smaller ones.

The battle raged. Zoro slashed and ducked, blocked and parried.

Kess slashed down one, then blocked and slashed a second one. When she hit the seventh, however, the baboon blocked her strike and knocked her away. She landed on a bad angle, her katana clattering across the stone.

The humandrill stalked up to her. It raised it's huge javelin.

Kess tried to get up, to reach her katana, but she flinched when she put weight on her left ankle.

The humandrill brought down his javelin.

_**Clang!**_

Zoro had intercepted the blow with Kitetsu III. The cursed blade seemed to emanate a ferocious aura.

Zoro bent down and picked Kess up by the arm, balancing her on one foot. "I guess I win." he smirked.

Kess gave him a _shut up_ look.

The king humandrill slashed at them. Zoro was occupied with one of the smaller baboons, so his back was to him. As he swung his sword, Kess grabbed her katana, balanced on her good foot, and braced for impact.

Zoro slashed the humandrill, and turned to fight off the king, but he was too close to Kess. He wouldn't make it in time!

Kess shut her eyes, and waited for the blow. A few seconds passed before she opened her eyes again.

There was Hawk Eye, standing in front of the king humandrill, his sword drawn. The king humandrill had stopped dead in his tracks. Hawk Eye was giving him his famous death glare.

The king humandrill turned tail and ran.

Zoro ran up to Kess, who was still staring at Hawk Eye in disbelief. "You okay?" he asked.

Kess looked at him and nodded, but flinched when Hawk Eye turned to face her.

"Hey, Hawk Eye, cut her some slack." Zoro said, before Hawk Eye could say anything to Kess. "She's injured."

To Zoro's complete astonishment, Hawk Eye knelt down beside Kess and gently took her ankle in his hand.

Kess winced when he did that.

"You sprained your ankle." he said. "You'll have to put ice on it, and keep your weight off it for a little while." Carefully, he picked her up and put her on his back.

Zoro raised an eyebrow when Hawk Eye said, "That will be all for today."

Zoro finished off the last grunt baboon and followed behind. He stared at the two people in front of him; Hawk Eye's pace measured and steady; Kess leaning over his shoulder, occasionally looking over her shoulder to make sure Zoro was following.

"This is a side of Hawk Eye I've never seen before..."

**Hee! So, that's chapter 6! **

**Zoro: (snores)**

**FM13: Geez... Does he do anything but sleep? Wait... What am I saying? Kess, can you -**

**Kess: (fast asleep) **

**FM13: Oh, well. Please review! XD**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi!**

**Mihawk: Be quiet. **

**FM13: Oh, you're in a real good mood today. **

**Mihawk: I have little patience for those who scream and shout for no apparent reason. **

**Zoro: You put up with that annoying ghost girl.**

**Perona: WHAAT?!**

**Kess: (flinches and hides behind Mihawk's leg) ...**

**FM13: Alright, enough. **

**Zoro: frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece, or any of it's characters. Only her OC. **

Chapter 7

"Oww!" Zoro gasped as he clutched his eye. He had been training with Hawk Eye in the training room. His concentration had wavered for an instant, and that happened.

"Concentrate!" Mihawk said sharply. "You need to control your thoughts!" His sword was in his hand.

Mihawk sighed and put his forehead in his hand. He could see that training was going to be next to impossible that day. "Get some rest." he said. "We can't do anything else today."

Zoro glared at Hawk Eye with his good eye. "I can keep going." he growled.

Hawk Eye gave him one of his stink eyes. "You have broken concentration many times today." he said. "I can teach you no more today." He gave him a look that said, _end of discussion._ "Kess!" he called.

Kess, who had been sitting cross legged on the floor, meditating, opened her eyes, and hopped over.

"Kess, take Zoro to his room and tend to his eye." he said.

Kess nodded, took up a set of crutches she had made out of tree roots, and led Zoro out of the room.

Mihawk sighed in annoyance. What was going on today? Was it just bad concentration on Zoro's part, or was it a flaw in his teachings?He had never taught someone like Zoro before. Kess had always been a slow learner, but she kept concentration pretty well. Zoro, on the other hand, was talented but broke concentration too easily, at least in his opinion.

He sighed again and sat down. He needed to give this matter more thought.

* * *

Back in Zoro's room, Zoro was sitting on the bed, while Kess poked at his cut with a wet cloth. "Hey," he said. "How's your ankle healing up?"

Kess shrugged.

He took that as a 'It's going well, I guess'. "Ouch!" he said. Kess had started rubbing his cut with disinfectant. "Geez, Kess, that hurts!"

She glared at him, stopped rubbing his cut, and opened his eye.

The pain was worse, if possible.

Kess' face turned a sickly shade of green. His eye must not have been in good condition. She quickly closed his eye and started poking at his cut with disinfectant again. When she finished she opened his eye again. Her mouth twisted into a grimace and she started to poke at the slash in his eye with a cotton swab.

Zoro heard a screaming sound, which only later did he realize that the screaming person was him. Then, he was up and running, through the castle corridors, Kess crutching after him holding the disinfectant bottle in her mouth, and the box of cotton swabs balanced precariously on her head.

Meanwhile, Mihawk was sitting in his chair in the great hall, sipping his wine. He closed his eyes, savoured the flavour of his drink, and then... His eyes snapped open. He could hear a thunking noise, soft at first, then slowly getting louder, and louder. Then, Zoro zoomed past the open door, his green hair whipping around as much as it could.

Kess crutched past the doorway, just barely clutching the bottle of disinfectant between her teeth.

After about four of these passes by the door, Mihawk called, "You children stop making such a racket indoors!" Zoro stopped dead, Kess slammed into him, and they ended up in a heap in the doorway, disinfectant dribbling down Zoro's forehead.

"What's all the noise?" Perona floated down the hall, digging her fist into her eye. She stopped when she saw Zoro and Kess, and said, "What's going on?"

"Tell Kess to use some anesthetic." Zoro complained.

When Perona finally understood what was going on, she started ranting at him. "You are so stupid, breaking concentration like that! Do you have any brains at all?!"

"Shut up." he groaned.

"I don't want to hear-"

Then, they felt a cold aura emanating from the other side of the doorway. "Did you not hear what I said?"

All three of the younger people stopped and stared at Hawk Eye, giving them his stink eye, and scattered.

It took Kess four minutes to clean his eye. Four minutes may not seem like much, but when your eye's being poked with a disinfectant cotton swab, it seems like an eternity.

"Thanks..." Zoro muttered. He felt pretty bad about running from Kess just because she was trying to clean out his wound.

Kess just smiled and crutched over to sit beside him. She yawned hugely, leaned up against him and fell asleep.

"Oh, boy..." Zoro muttered. "This kid really needs to get more sleep on her own time." Even though he said that, he didn't wake her up.

**Kess: (looks around) ... (no one's around) ... (scratches something on her notepad) ****_Please review! They're awesome!_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello, everyone! Here's chapter 8! This chapter covers about three days. I looked over my original chapter, but it was way too short, so I fused it with chapter 9. **

**Mihawk: Must you be so loud. I'm trying to read the paper.**

**FM13: You can read the paper any old time! Can you at least say the disclaimer?**

**Mihawk: No. I refuse. **

**Kess: (holds up her notepad) ****_I'll do it!_**

**FM13: Thank-you Kess. **

**Kess: (flips the page on her notepad and holds it up) ****_Frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece, or any of it's characters. Only her OC._**

Chapter 8

Zoro woke up to find the sun shining down on his face. It was a beautiful morning, or as beautiful as a morning could get on Gloom island. He yawned loudly, and hauled himself out of bed. He decided to make his way down to the great hall where Hawk Eye probably was.

He found Hawk Eye there all right. Perona was there as well. "Well," she said sarcastically. "The zombie lives."

"Shut up." Zoro growled. Turning to Hawk Eye he said, "Are we going to start training or what?"

Hawk Eye shook his head. "Breakfast first. Kess is about to bring it out."

As if on cue, Kess came out of the kitchen carrying a large tray with a huge cake.

"What's going on?" Zoro asked. Then he took a look at the cake. It said _Happy th birthday Zorro._

He looked at Kess. "Did you make this?"

She nodded. She had misspelled his name, but that didn't make a difference.

"How did you know it's my birthday? I don't remember telling any of you about that. Were you in my room looking through my stuff?"

"Spring cleaning." Hawk Eye answered. "Kess goes and cleans the entire castle in the spring. I advise you not to leave anything you don't want her to see lying around. Or she'll find out things like that."

"Oh." Zoro said. He seriously hoped he wasn't blushing.

Kess poked his shoulder. She raised an eyebrow, and cocked her head to one side, and pointed to the empty space in writing on the cake.

"Oh," said Zoro, looking at his friend. "I'm twenty."

Mihawk walked over to Kess and whispered something in her ear.

Kess nodded, then she punched Zoro in the shoulder.

"Hey!" Zoro said. "What was that for?" He stared at her in confusion as she hit him again and again, twenty times.

"Have you never heard of that? The number years old you are is how many times you get hit. Where were you raised?" Mihawk smirked.

"I'm sure Kess didn't know about that until you told her just now." Zoro muttered.

Kess sat down beside him and gave him the sad eyes.

"Oi," Zoro said, ruffling her hair. "You don't need to apologise. I haven't had a birthday party like this in a long time. This is great."

Kess grinned and gave him a hug. Zoro could almost hear her say it aloud. "Happy birthday, brother!"

* * *

Zoro was woken up in a rather unpleasant manner the next morning. Something or someone was sitting on his stomach. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring right into Kess' grey eyes.

Kess was looking at him expectantly. She was dressed in light blue pajamas, and she was barefoot.

"Kess!" he shouted. "What's wrong? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Kess nodded and held up six fingers. 6:00.

"You better have a good reason for waking me up." he groaned.

Without warning, Kess grabbed his hand and started pulling him out of the room.

"Hey, Kess wait!" Zoro said. "I don't have a shirt on yet!"

Kess led Zoro right outside. Zoro was about to ask why she had dragged him out without waiting for him to get dressed, when a large drop of something hit him in the shoulder. "Kess," he said. "Let's go back in. It's raining."

Kess smiled hugely and pulled him further outside. She let go of his hand, and ran around in a circle, with a huge smile on her face.

"Wait, the rain _is_ the reason you're so excited." he said.

Rain must not have been a common occurrence on Gloom island. Kess was about as happy in the rain as a normal kid on a snow day.

He smiled. Then, he sneezed loudly. He figured he should at least get a shirt before he spent more time outside.

"It only rains once a year on Gloom island." Hawk Eye's voice said from behind him. The swordmaster stood beside him, staring at his adopted daughter below them. "I'm glad you're here, Roronoa."

Zoro stiffened. "Why?"

"Because," Hawk Eye said. "For the past five years, Kess has been waking _me_ up at the crack of dawn on these rainy days."

Zoro felt a nerve in his temple throb. Hawk Eye was the weirdest guy he'd ever met, and that was saying something.

"She sure gets excited by rain." Zoro said.

Hawk Eye nodded. "Quite weird, isn't she?"

* * *

Zoro sat in his room, staring at his hands. He groaned. His eye was aching again. It had been giving him trouble for the past week or so. Being half blind was infuriating. He had a hard time living with his new enlarged blind spot.

He stopped. He thought he could hear someone coming up behind. Then, someone touched his shoulder. Without thinking, Zoro grabbed the person's arms, and flipped Kess onto her back, on his lap.

"I'm only half blind, Kess." he said, smirking.

Kess grinned and poked him in the stomach. She held up a small bottle of green stuff, and handed it to him.

He smiled and took it. "Ointment?" he asked.

She nodded.

Zoro sighed. How did she know that his eye was still giving him trouble? He smirked.

Kess squirmed to get out of his grip, but Zoro didn't let her go.

"Little trickster. Sneaking up on me like that..." he said, poking her in the stomach.

Kess doubled over, giggling. Zoro grinned, and tickled Kess again.

He was surprised. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed having someone to goof around with.

**Kess: (looks around again) ... ...! (notices Zoro)**

**Zoro: Ack! Kess, what is it?**

**Kess: (scribbles something on her notepad and holds it up) ****_You can do the end stuff!_**

**Zoro: The end stuff? ... Oh! I get it. Fine. Please review! XD ... What am I doing?!**

**Kess: (holds up her sketchpad) ****_The XD is the best part..._**** (sniffs) ...**

**Zoro: H-hey! Don't cry! Here..**

**XD XD XD XD**

**Kess: (giggles)**

**Zoro: Geez...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello, all you Thousand Words readers!**

**Zoro: It's too early for this...**

**FM13: Two in the afternoon is too early for you.**

**Kess: (giggles) ...**

**Zoro: Kess... You're supposed to be on _my_ side...**

**Mihawk: She's right, you know.**

**Zoro: Oh, shut up.**

**Kess: (holds up her notepad) _frostmoon13 doesn't own one piece or any of it's characters. Only her OC._**

Chapter 9

It was midnight. Mihawk was sitting in his comfy chair, like he always did at this time of night, reading a newspaper and sipping a glass of wine. He enjoyed the quiet hours of the night. The only hours he had to himself these days. He flipped to the next page of the newspaper, and caught his breath.

_The Strawhat pirates, as reported by many government officials,_

_had completely disappeared after their utter defeat fourteen months ago._

_Or so many thought. Now, officer Sentomaru, head of the PX unit, has_

_found the trail of one of the Strawhats. The pirate hunter, Roronoa Zoro has_

_been discovered to be hiding on Gl-_

Mihawk closed the newspaper at the sound of approaching footsteps. He looked out the door, and Kess stepped in. "Kess." he said sharply. "What are you doing out of bed? Do you know how late it is?"

Kess nodded, and walked over to him. She tried to get a look at the article he was reading.

Mihawk folded the paper and said, "I expect an explanation as to why you're up so late. Being rested on the battlefield can be the difference between life and death."

Kess gave him a strange look. She took his hand and stared right up into his eyes.

"You're worried about Zoro." he said.

Kess nodded. She held up a newspaper article that had been cut out of last week's paper.

Marine officer Sentomaru has publicly declared that

he believes the Strawhat crew is alive. However, his

efforts will be kept aside for a few more days while

the new fleet admiral is decided. No update on

the status of the conflict between Kuzan and Sakazuki.

Mihawk put down the article. "You don't need to worry. Zoro will not come to harm here." He almost laughed at the serious look she gave him. It was so unlike her. "Just because I'm one of the shichibukai doesn't mean I have any love for the world government, or the marines. They won't dare come here. They don't even know I live here."

Kess nodded. Then, she yawned.

"Go back to your room." he said. "Lack of sleep stunts your growth, and you're already alarmingly small for your age."

Kess gave him the stink eye. Then, she grabbed her article and disappeared into the darkness.

Then Mihawk really did laugh. He had seen that look before. It was a much cuter version of the stink eye he always gave anyone when they annoyed him.

Taking a few deep breaths and checking back into reality, he opened the article and picked up where he left off.

Glowfin island, the home of one of the largest network

of caves in the grand line. This man is a dangerous criminal.

It is advised that all inhabitants stay indoors.

Mihawk sighed and rolled his eyes. This was not far from what he'd predicted. Ever since Strawhat Luffy made such a spectacle of himself over a year and a half ago the world trembled at the sound of his name. _The press must be bored of writing articles on the other rookies that entered the new world. _he thought. This was ridiculous. The government had absolutely no idea where Zoro was. Although, there was no denying... The article was suspicious.

"I know you're still out there, Kess." he said sharply. "Come out here."

Kess appeared in the doorway.

"Go and wake up Roronoa and the ghost girl. Take them into the forest, by your sakura tree. Farther if you can. Do not come back until I come to get you, understand?"

A look of worry and fear crossed Kess' face, but soon it was replaced by a look of shaky confidence. She nodded, turned on her heels, and ran down the hall.

Mihawk took another look at the article. His sharp eyes roved across the article, and rested on the author of the article. Resting firmly beside the author's name was a small symbol. The symbol of the world government, and the gull of the marines. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He had been right to send Kess to get the annoying ones out of bed. He folded the newspaper, sat back, closed his eyes, and waited for the fun to begin.

* * *

"Kess, what's going on?" Zoro grumbled.

It was 12:30, and he was seriously irritated. Kess had just woken him up, pretty much dragged him out of bed, and pulled him through the hall to wake Perona up. Then, she had dragged both of them outside, past the monkeys' territory, through the woods, and past the sakura tree.

Finally, they stopped. As far as Zoro could tell, they were in the middle of nowhere. He didn't recognise this part of the island at all.

Perona pouted. "What's going on? Couldn't I have even had a cup of hot cocoa before we left?"

Zoro smacked her upside the head.

"Hey!" she shouted. "Hasn't anyone told you it's rude to hit a lady? You aren't a gentleman at all!"

"You're a lady?" Zoro said in mock surprise. "I had absolutely no idea!"

Perona was about to smack him, when a bunch of old tree roots wrapped around Perona's mouth, and bound her hands behind her back.

Kess was holding out her hand. She was giving them a look that said, 'shut up'.

"Are we here because of some kind of danger?" he asked.

Kess nodded. She took up a root from the ground, and started drawing something in the dirt. Three stick people, one with pigtails, one with something that looked like three extra legs, and one with a stick on it's back. Then, she drew a circle, which Zoro guessed was the island, and an arrow pointing to the three stick people.

"We're supposed to stay here?" Zoro asked. "For how long?"

Kess scratched another picture in the dirt. A wide brimmed hat with a feather.

"Until Hawk Eye comes to get us?"

Kess nodded.

"This doesn't make sense..." Zoro muttered. "The marines must be on the crew's trail. They must not be too far away." He didn't like the way this was going. He sat down at the base of a tree, folded his arms behind his head, and yawned. "I'm going to sleep, okay?" he said. "Wake me up if that ugly baboon shows up or something."

* * *

Mihawk stood at the shore, gazing out at the ocean. His keen eyes finally rested on a small, dark figure on the horizon: a marine ship. Not a warship, but he could still sense there was someone fairly important on that ship. The wind was blowing the ship right towards the island.

It took the boat about an hour to reach the island. Mihawk just stood motionless, staring at the four people walking down the gangplank.

"Kizaru." he said. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Kizaru stepped up, smiled nonchalantly, and raised an eyebrow. "Hello, Hawk Eye." he said. "Sorry to disturb your privacy, but I have a feeling you haven't been alone here for a long time."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Mihawk snapped.

"Hawk Eye, straight to the point as always, I see." Kizaru sighed. "Fine. The world government believes that you may be hiding one of the strawhat pirates on this island. Roronoa Zoro, to be exact."

Mihawk just glared at Kizaru. "What would make you think I was hiding anyone on the island? Do you see any traces of someone other than myself?"

Kizaru's smile was a lot less friendly now. "We already know you're sheltering an unregistered child, Hawk Eye. The only reason you haven't been called on this is because we've seen her before. That, however, is not the reason we're here."

Mihawk inclined his head. "I do not believe in registering people to the government as if they were possessions. And you still haven't answered my question."

Kizaru smirked. "May I introduce my companions? This is officer Sentomaru, head of the PX unit."

A large man with black hair and a red... Something or other (Mihawk wasn't sure what to call the article, but he got the feeling 'tablecloth' was not the right answer), stepped up. The two men nodded to each other.

"We also brought PX3 and PX4 to scan for others living on the island." Mihawk's eyes narrowed.

Pacifistas. Robots who looked exactly like Bartholomew Kuma. He had seen them in action at the battle of marineford. Their strength was incredible. They attacked without emotion. One of the government's most powerful weapons.

"I hope you don't mind if PX3 and PX4 search the island for any... bounty heads." Kizaru said in a tone that showed plainly that there was no choice in the matter.

"Whatever. It makes no difference to me." Mihawk said flatly. He had to be calm, act like nothing suspicious was going on. Not that a shichibukai teaching a pirate swordsmanship was suspicious. The government was just picky about that sort of thing.

"Aren't you going to invite us in for tea?" Kizaru asked with mock politeness in his voice.

Mihawk sighed. Go figure. They were going to keep him busy while the pacifistas did their job.

He wasn't worried, though. If Kess had listened to him, there would be no way the pacifistas could find Roronoa or the ghost girl - what was her name again?-. Not unless Vegapunk had made some kind of improvement to their programming or mobility.

"The thought hadn't crossed my mind," he replied. "But I suppose there's no harm in it. Come with me, then." With that, he led Kizaru and Sentomaru into the castle.

* * *

Zoro yawned and stretched. It had been at least four hours, since the sun was climbing on the horizon. Kess was sitting motionless a few feet away. Zoro wasn't sure if she was asleep or meditating.

Zoro turned and saw Perona. She still had those roots wrapped around her mouth and her wrists. She was twitching and trying to cry out, but she couldn't.

Zoro sweatdropped.

"Hey, Kess," he said, walking over to her and sitting beside her. "You sense anything coming?"

Kess just looked at him. She looked, well, scared.

"Hey, it'll be alright." he said, ruffling her hair. "If the marines are here, there's no way they could find us easily, and Hawk Eye's no idiot." After a few seconds, another question popped into his head. "Why haven't you let her go yet?" he said, jabbing his thumb at Perona.

Kess rolled her eyes.

"You're right. She would make too much noise and blow our cover." Zoro laughed.

Kess smiled, then, she tensed. She sat bolt upright, her eyes wide, and her hand resting on the hilt of her katana.

"What's wrong?" Zoro asked. He didn't need to wait long for the answer to that. Lumbering through the woods were two large figures, tall, large, with bear ears.

"Kuma..." Zoro growled. Then, he realised it wasn't Kuma. They were two of the look-alikes, what did they call them, Pacifistas. He drew his swords. "Get behind me, Kess." he said. "We've got a bit of a fight on our hands."

One of the pacifistas locked his gaze onto the three of them. "Located." it said. "Pirate, Pirate Hunter Zoro. Bounty: 120 million berries; ghost princess Perona. Bounty: none; unregistered child."

Zoro drew his swords. He had fought two pacifistas before, but he had pretty much failed at that. That had been over a year ago, though. No way the results would be the same.

The pacifista opened it's huge mouth.

"Get ready!" Zoro shouted. He knew what was coming.

The white hot beam shot past them, just barely missing his ear. Kess got out of the way only just in time, pulling Perona out of it's path by her braids.

"Untie her!" he shouted to Kess. "She could help with those weird ghosts of hers!"

Kess willed the roots to let go of Perona, but it didn't do much good. Perona was out cold.

Zoro groaned. Great, just great. He raised his swords and shouted "Nigiri!" When Shusui and Kitetsu III hit PX4's chest, it knocked both of them back. Unfortunately for Zoro, the pacifista outweighed him by about two hundred pounds, so it only flew about ten feet. Zoro, however, flew back so fast he was a green white and black blur. He crashed into a piece of rubble.

"Oww..." he grumbled.

PX3 loomed over Zoro, opened it's mouth... Then stopped.

Zoro sat up, and noticed the brown thin roots sticking out of the robot's ears. Then, the pacifista shut it's mouth, looked around, and said, "Scanning... No life forms found." _What?_

Zoro looked over at Kess. She was standing over Perona, facing the pacifista. She had a look of absolute relief on her face.

Standing up, Zoro called, "Good job, Kess! I'll get the next one!" He adjusted the Wado Ichimonji in his mouth, he charged the robot, crouched down, and jumped. "Yasha Garasu!" Rotating like a wheel, he slashed the pacifista, leaving three long lines of wounds that looked like bird footprints.

PX4 turned to Zoro, raised it's arm, and slammed it into the ground. On impact, the rocks cracked. A shock wave blasted a circle around him, knocking his two opponents off their feet.

Kess sailed back and smacked her head against a dead tree.

Zoro crashed into that piece of rubble again. That was getting really annoying.

"Damn..." he groaned. "This is not going well..." Then, his heart leapt so fast he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

The remaining pacifista was standing over Kess, his hand raised.

"Draw and resheath technique, Rashomon!" His strike caught the pacifista in the neck. The skin split, but it only seemed to annoy him. It opened it's mouth, and Zoro could see the beam forming. At point-blank range, it would surely be fatal.

The beam never shot, however. Zoro grinned. "Nice save, Kess."

Fortunately, Kess had regained consciousness just in time. Zoro saw the familiar miniature roots sticking out of the robot's ears.

"No life forms found..." said the pacifista.

"Phew!" Zoro said pulling off his bandana and wiping the sweat off his forehead. He walked over to Kess. "Now what?" he said. "Any marine worth his shoeshine would be able to tell someone had messed with them. We have to send them back, but they'd give us away."

Kess shook her head. She seemed a little too dazed to think straight.

"What to do...?" Zoro said again. They needed a miracle.

It happened suddenly, almost too suddenly for Zoro's taste. The ground rumbled, the tree branches shook like mad, and a huge war whoop split the air. A huge group of humandrills burst through the trees. The king humandrill was at their head. He unsheathed his sword, and slashed the motionless pacifistas so hard they were knocked to the ground. There, the smaller baboons started slashing their protective skin to ribbons.

"Wow..." said Zoro, completely awestruck. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad those ugly apes showed up when they did."

Kess nodded, then flinched when the closest pacifista to them lost it's hand to a particularly wild looking one. She gave Zoro the big grey sad eyes.

"Yeah, I know." Zoro said. "Let's just hope they don't find us."

It took half an hour for the humandrills to finish their rampage. Zoro had to hand it to those ugly baboons; the pacifistas looked like they'd been caught in a blender. They could walk, but Zoro wasn't sure they could do much else. They said something along the lines of, 'no pirates found', and wandered away.

Zoro slumped to the ground. "Man..." he sighed. "That was too close for comfort."

Kess nodded. She yawned and gave him the sad eyes.

"You get some sleep." Zoro said. "Lack of sleep stunts your growth."

* * *

Mihawk couldn't have wished for less pleasant company for tea. Kizaru shot strange looks across the room, and wrinkling his nose, as if the whole castle smelled like dirty laundry. As far as Mihawk could tell, Zoro's room was the only room that smelled like that. Sentomaru didn't say anything. Kess spoke more than he did. Now and then he would lean over and whisper something in Kizaru's ear. _Honestly..._ Mihawk thought. _They invite themselves in for tea, then they have the audacity to ignore their host. I am definitely not inviting them over again. _

His train of thought derailed when he heard a clicking and whirring sound in the hallway. Mihawk's eyes widened. In walked the pacifistas. They were a wreck. One of them was missing a hand, it's face was slashed to ribbons. The second was barely recognisable, it's clothes and metallic skin in tatters.

Mihawk resisted the urge to laugh out loud. That would be inappropriate with Kizaru and Sentomaru around.

"What happened?!" Sentomaru shouted. "Was it Roronoa Zoro?"

The nearest pacifista opened it's mouth, and steam leaked out. "No bounty heads detected... Ro-zzz- noa zzz not here..."

"Then how?!"

"They probably ran into a pack of humandrills." Mihawk said, struggling to keep his voice level. "Those baboons are vicious. Even your pacifistas don't seem to be a match for a group of them."

"Well," Kizaru said. "It appears our business here is finished. Please forgive the intrusion. Until next time."

Mihawk resisted the urge to tell them he didn't want them on his island again. He sighed. Whatever had happened out there, Zoro and Kess were alright. Now, he just had to pick them up.

Mihawk had expected what he saw. The ground looked like it had been ravaged by a group of humandrills, which, of course, it had. Perona was passed out cold, propped up against a piece of rubble. Again, no surprise there. Zoro was asleep, leaning against a blackened tree trunk. Kess was also asleep, her head resting on Zoro's chest. The whole scene gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling, but it also triggered an irresistible urge to pluck a few nerves.

"I hate to interrupt such a tender moment," he said. "But I think the castle would be a better place to sleep."

Zoro's eyes snapped open. "What's going on?" he said. "What are you talking about now?"

"Sorry to disrupt your nap, but the marines left. You can come back now." He smirked when he saw Zoro's face get bright red. "Oh, give it a rest!" Zoro hissed.

Mihawk chuckled. He hadn't had this much fun in a long time.

**So, a big fight between Zoro and Kess, and the Pacifistas! **

**Kess: (holds up her notepad) _I did really well! Yay! And Zoro didn't get killed!_**

**Zoro: (bonks her lightly on the head) Of course I didn't get killed. **

**Kess: (grins) _Please review!_**_ XD_


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello, Thousand Words readers! This is the second to last chapter! Waah! I had to fuse a couple of chapters together because the original chapter 10 was way too short! I have that problem.**  
**Zoro: That's not the only problem with you...**

**FM13: Shut up!**

**Kess: (holds up her notepad) ****_Stop fighting! Anyway, frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of it's characters! Only her OC._**

Chapter 10

Zoro woke up the next morning at 6:00. He groaned. After waking up at midnight, fighting a couple of crazy robots, and missing his afternoon nap, he thought he'd be able to sleep in for once. No such luck.

Kess was waiting for him in the great hall. She looked really tired too, as if she hadn't slept at all that night. When she saw Zoro, Kess dashed into the kitchen, and came out carrying a tray of dried fruit.

"Is that breakfast?" he asked.

Kess nodded, then ran up to the table and sat next to him.

Just then, Perona floated in. "Oh, good morning Pinkie." Zoro smirked.

He must have plucked a nerve, because Perona pretty much flipped out. "PINKIE?! YOU HAVE A LOT OF NERVE, YOU BA-"

"That's enough shouting. It's way too early for your petty bickering." Hawk Eye had come in while Perona was ranting.

"They treated me horribly yesterday!" Perona whined. "Those roots tasted awful!"

"You would have blown our cover a lot sooner if Kess hadn't restrained you." Zoro grumbled.

"Why I oughtta-" she stopped. Kess had held out a tray of food to her. Perona's eyes grew wide. "You're giving me that?"

Kess nodded.

Perona took the tray of food, and pulled her into a hug.

That wasn't a good idea, however. Kess, who had mustered enough courage to give her the tray of food, couldn't handle being hugged. She smacked her head against Perona's. There was a loud crack, and Perona let out a howl of pain. "Why you!" she shouted.

Kess, who had managed to free herself, ran and hid behind Hawk Eye's legs.

Zoro howled with laughter.

Even Hawk Eye cracked a small smile.

* * *

Zoro sat just inside what Hawk Eye called the monkey ring- he didn't know why-, meditating. Finally, some time to relax. It was just him, and the calmness he had achieved. He could hear the dry wind rolling over the hills. Feel every drop of humidity in the air. Someone was coming. Zoro already knew who it was, of course, but he pretended not to notice.

Then, he felt a small push, and ended up on his back. "Whoof!" He opened his eyes.

Kess was sitting on his stomach, her feet pinning his wrists to the ground. She was grinning at him, as if to say, _Gotcha!_

Zoro laughed. "Okay, okay, you got me!" he said, grinning. "Are you bored or something?" he asked.

Kess sighed, and rubbed her knuckles against his head.

"Is it dinner time already?"

She nodded. Come to think of it, she had a huge red stain on her shirt, probably a juice stain.

"Alright, then." he said, getting up, catching Kess in his arms. Kess squirmed and poked him, but Zoro wouldn't put her down. She gave him a look as if to say, '_Put. me. down._'.

Zoro, however, didn't put her down. He had spent hours on Sunny lifting two to three thousand pound dumbbells. Holding onto a squirming sixty pound kid was child's play. "Hey," he said, smirking at her. "You still have an injured ankle. You should keep your weight off it." He knew Kess' ankle had healed, but she looked pretty funny, especially when she gave him the stink eye. "You do a good imitation of Hawk Eye, Kess." he laughed.

* * *

Mihawk sat in his armchair, watching the morning sun shine in through the windows. The thought occurred to him that it had been almost two years since Zoro and that ghost girl had landed on Gloom island. Where had the time gone? Two years just weren't what they used to be. He had almost gotten used to the constant commotion that those two caused. Things had always been quiet in the castle, since he never had cause to talk much, and Kess was normally outside.

He swished the wine around in his glass.

He felt a tug at his sleeve. "Good morning, Kess." he said.

Kess gave him a curious look. She looked... worried.

"Yes." he said. "Roronoa will be leaving in a couple of weeks. And, with any luck, the ghost girl will go with him. Zoro only has one more challenge ahead of him."

Kess looked down and pouted.

"Yes, it has been almost two years." he said. Then, he looked at the clock. 7:15. "Go wake up Roronoa, would you? If left to his own devices he'll wake up at noon."

Kess nodded glumly and stumped off to Zoro's room.

* * *

Zoro had been hoping to sleep in for once, you know, just until 9:00. No such luck. Kess had woken him up at twenty after seven, dragged him down the hallway, dragged him back to get his haramaki, then took him to the great hall. Instead of the full breakfast he had the morning before, Kess put down a large glass full of a pinkish brown liquid. "What's this?" he asked.

Kess' response wasn't one he liked. She shrugged.

"It's an energy smoothie." Hawk Eye said. "It will give you more energy."

"Great." said Zoro, taking a sip. It tasted like wet sand. He looked at Kess. She had taken a sip of hers, and he could tell by her expression that she shared his opinion.

"So," Zoro said, wiping the awful stuff off his mouth. "What's the plan for today? I only have a little while left."

Hawk Eye smirked. "Time for you to take on the beast. Without help."

* * *

"Well," Zoro said, shielding his eyes from the yearly rain. "You picked a great day for this, Hawk Eye." The ground, which was normally covered in dust and dry, cracked dirt, was now a mud-hole. The rain poured down in a solid sheet. Zoro groaned. He hated the rain. It made swordsmanship a whole lot harder because of slippery footing.

Kess, however, was sitting on a piece of rubble, looking up at the clouds, swinging her legs back and forth. Oh, well. At least _someone_ was enjoying the rain.

Then, the ape he was looking for ambled up the hill. The blind king humandrill was just as terrifying as he was the first time Zoro fought him.

"All right, you ugly baboon." Zoro said, holding Wado Ichimonji between his teeth, and tying his bandana around his head. "Let's settle this once and for all."

Then the fight began. Zoro ducked under a wide sweep, the pale white blade barely missing his hair. There was a perfect opening right underneath his armpit, in the wide gap in between the chinks of his ill-fitting armor.

Zoro charged. "Tora Gari!" He timed his attack perfectly. Right under the armpit.

The baboon howled in pain. He tried to knock Zoro away, but Zoro was just a little too quick for that.

He ducked under the strike, and slashed it at the knee.

Another howl.

Zoro ducked another terrifyingly accurate slash. Blindness had obviously not been an issue for this guy.

He jumped back, and shouted, "Hyakuhachi pound ho!" He had worked on this technique for the longest time, and now, he could control it. This time, the huge semicircle of pure energy hit the humandrill square in the chest.

The king humandrill bellowed in rage, bringing his huge blade right down on top of Zoro.

Zoro managed to block it, and a circle of energy formed around them. This was the perfect opportunity for another attack. He crouched down, and began to spin. "Tatsu Maki!" The king humandrill flew into the sky, inside a twister of projected slashes. Zoro grinned, remembering the first time he used this attack. He had used it against Hatchan, the octopus fish-man, in Coco village. The technique was way larger than before.

The king humandrill got up, growling loudly.

"This guy's got some incredible stamina." Zoro said, grinning. He charged the baboon, and blocked another strike. He ducked under the ape's arm, but got caught in the chest by the hilt. He flew backwards and slammed into a piece of rubble. The rubble crumbled to bits.

Zoro got up, groaning. He felt his side. Blood soaked the right side of his haramaki. "Damn it..." he muttered. "Let my guard down."

The king humandrill came in for the kill.

Zoro hauled himself to his feet. "Let's try out a new technique." he said. He charged to meet the baboon, and slashed. The baboon fell to the ground. "Santoryu ogi. Rokudo no tsuji."

The baboon got up again.

"Geez." Zoro muttered. "If I had a hat I'd tip it to you. What stamina..." He took a look at his opponent. He could tell the baboon was almost at his limit. "Alright." he said. "It's been fun, but let's finish this."

He pulled his swords back, and charged. "Oni...GIRI!" He slashed right through the baboon's thick armor, hit the ape's large furry chest, and cut a huge gash.

Zoro landed gently. His face, his hair, and his dark green coat were splattered with baboon blood.

He panted heavily. Everything was fuzzy. He couldn't think straight.

Then, a voice pulled him out of his daze. "Congratulations. You won." Hawk Eye walked up to him. Hawk Eye glanced at the king humandrill. "Well," he said. "He won't be bothering you again."

Zoro grinned. He looked at Kess.

She was grinning from ear to ear. She thrust her hand out and gave him the thumbs up.

He smiled and returned it. Then, he collapsed. He had lost too much blood. "Urgg..." he grumbled. "I feel dizzy." He felt himself get hauled up by the arm.

"That was not an intelligent move back there, Roronoa." Hawk Eye said.

"Yeah, yeah..." Zoro muttered.

"I swear," Hawk Eye said. "You don't think when in a fight. Kess, take him inside to the ghost girl and see to that cut of his."

Kess nodded, took his hand, and dragged him to the castle.

* * *

Hawk Eye turned to the king humandrill. He was slowly getting up. Hawk Eye glared at him. "You are no longer needed here. Be gone."

The king humandrill flinched, and lumbered into the dead forest.

"Well," Hawk Eye said to himself. "That was quite an interesting fight. He's learned much." He ran his fingers along the jewel at the end of his black blade, Yoru's, hilt. "But he still has a little ways to go, yet. "

**Zoro defeated the king humandrill by himself! Yay! **

**Zoro: Of course I did.**

**Kess: (smiles) ...! **

**Zoro: Thanks, Kess... **

**FM13: Aww... Isn't that cute...**

**Zoro: Be quiet.**

**Kess: (holds up her notepad) Please review! XD**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello, all you Thousand Words readers! Well, this is it! The last chapter! ;A;**

**Thanks to everyone who followed, favourited, and reviewed! Thanks for staying with this story to the end!**

**Kess: (grins) ...**

**Zoro: So, people, frostmoon13 doesn't own One Piece or any of the characters. Only her OC. **

**Enjoy the last chapter!**

Chapter 18

Zoro stared out at the open ocean. He drew in a long breath. "Wow." he said. "Hard to believe two years have already passed. So much has happened. Just you wait, Luffy. I'm coming back and I'm stronger than ever. I wonder what adventures await us..."

"You're thinking deep thoughts?" Hawk Eye said, walking up to him. "I foresee stormy skies and turbulent waters ahead."

"Shut up!" Zoro grumbled. He had stayed on the island for two years and Hawk Eye still annoyed him.

It was a nice day to set sail. He was looking forward to seeing the Sabaody Archipelago.

Then, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Kess was standing next to him. Her scruffy blue hair almost covered her eyes, which were swimming with tears. She gave him a hug, burying her face in his haramaki.

Zoro got down to her level, and looked her straight in the face. "Hey," he said. "I'll miss you too, but you know I can't stay."

Kess nodded and sniffed. She grabbed Zoro's hand, and placed a seed in his palm.

"Is this from your sakura tree?" he asked.

She nodded. She gave him a pleading look.

"Yes, there is a garden on Sunny." he said. "I'll plant it there."

Kess smiled. Then, she gave him another hug.

"All right." Zoro said. "I'm off to the Sabaody Archipelago."

"WAIT A MINUTE!" he heard Perona shriek. "I'm coming too." she said. "If you go alone you'll get lost before you leave the island's magnetic field."

"I will not." Zoro said.

"Yes you will." Hawk Eye said. "Just accept her help."

"Fine." he sighed. "Let's go."

They got into the small boat that Hawk Eye had given them, and cast off.

"Good luck." Hawk Eye said.

"Thank-you for everything." Zoro said.

As they sailed away, Zoro looked back. Kess was standing beside Hawk Eye, waving frantically.

"Well," Zoro said, running his hands through his hair. "If you don't get us lost, we should be there in no time."

"What did you say?!" Perona shouted. She smacked him on the head, then screamed. A weird plant was wrapping around her wrist. "There's a weird plant in your hair!"

Zoro took the plant out of his hair. It had blended in perfectly with his green hair.

He chuckled. "Little trickster..." he said, smiling.

**The end. Look for the sequel! It's called A New World of Trouble. I'll probably post it next week. **


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